4 simple steps to writing a song | Ralph Covert | TEDxNaperville
Is songwriting really that complicated? Children’s rock performer Ralph Covert shares 4 simple steps to being a songwriter. To show how easy it can be, he creates one live on stage with the audience’s participation. At the heart of the success of Ralph Covert’s thirty year career as a Grammy-nominated recording artist is his songwriting. His songwriting classes for the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago were used as the model for their songwriting department. He has released over two dozen albums between his kids music project Ralph’s World and his Rock n’ Roll band The Bad Examples, and has toured the world, including prestigious venues like the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, New York’s Central Park, the Milky Way in Amsterdam, and many festivals, including Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. His songs have appeared in films, TV shows, like Six Feet Under, and commercials for companies like Huggies, Rice Krispies, and Sears, as well as being covered by other artists including the multi-platinum band Styx. Ralph’s World is viewed by millions on the Disney Channel. In addition to his music work, he is an award winning playwright, winning two Joseph Jefferson Citations for Best New Work, has published four books, and has composed music for plays, dance companies, and circuses At the heart of the success of Ralph Covert’s thirty year career as a Grammy-nominated recording artist is his songwriting. His songwriting classes for the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago were used as the model for their songwriting department. He has released over two dozen albums between his kids music project Ralph’s World and his Rock n’ Roll band The Bad Examples, and has toured the world, including prestigious venues like the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, New York’s Central Park, the Milky Way in Amsterdam, and many festivals, including Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
4 simple steps to writing a song | Ralph Covert | TEDxNaperville
Introduction
The speaker introduces the topic of songwriting and discusses the importance of having a "songwriter compass."
- A songwriter compass is a little voice in your head that tells you whether you like something or not.
The Songwriting Process
The speaker outlines the three major steps in the songwriting process: starting a song, finishing a song, and everything in between.
- When writing a song, you are making choices based on what you like using your songwriter compass.
- The middle part of the process involves repeating one simple action again and again, which is making choices.
- A song is done when you play it from beginning to end and like it all the way through.
- If you don't like something, it doesn't mean it's a bad song or that you're a bad songwriter; it just means there's a better choice to be made.
Making Choices
The speaker emphasizes that writing a song is all about making choices based on what you like using your songwriter compass.
- Each stage of writing involves making choices about chords, melody, words, etc.
- Your songwriter compass helps guide these choices by telling you whether or not you like something.
- Writing a good song requires making different choices until you find ones that work well together.
Beginning, Middle & End
The speaker breaks down the components of a song into four major facets: music, lyrics/words, rhythm/structure, and emotional center.
- Music and lyrics/words are familiar components of songs.
- Rhythm includes structure and how things fit together.
- Emotional center refers to how the song makes people feel.
- All four components are controlled by your songwriter compass.
Language of Creativity
The speaker discusses the broken language of creativity that can hold people back from writing songs.
- There are false assumptions about creativity that come down from history and cloud our minds.
- The language of following your muse or being inspired is passive and implies that ideas come from outside sources.
- Instead, the speaker suggests using a jumping off point to make choices and take control over the creative process.
Emotional Centers
In this section, the speaker talks about emotional centers and how they affect songwriting.
Emotional Centers
- Emotional centers are like filters that amplify the emotions felt while writing a song.
- The emotion being felt by the songwriter affects the perspective of the song.
- The emotional center is what connects people to a song.
Rhythm
In this section, the speaker talks about rhythm and its importance in music and language.
Rhythm
- Rhythm is present in everything we do, from walking to speaking.
- Language is built on rhythm, with every sentence having its own rhythm.
- Songs are based on dancing and movement, with most songs having twos, threes, or fours as their beat.
Music
In this section, the speaker talks about music and how anyone can write a song.
Music
- Anyone can write a song regardless of musical training because everyone has listened to so much music in their life.
- A person's "songwriter compass" or music brain is incredibly sophisticated due to listening to so much music throughout their life.
Songwriting Tips
In this section, the speaker provides tips on songwriting using simple tools such as the guitar and the doremi scale. He also shares a secret fact about scales and chords.
Using Scales and Chords
- Every note scale has a corresponding chord scale.
- Every note of the note scale is harmonically pleasing with every chord of the chord scale.
- There are only seven notes and seven chords in the scale, making it hard to go wrong.
Creating Melodies
- Melodies can evoke emotions even without words.
- Language has rhythm and rhyme that can be used in melodies.
- Melodies tend to go straight, down, up or zigzag.
Writing Lyrics
- Language has rhythm and rhyme that can be used in lyrics.
- The speaker encourages his students to pledge to discover rules of songwriting.
Randomly Generated Chorus
In this section, the speaker asks for random numbers from his audience to generate a chorus melody for their hit song.
Generating a Chorus Melody
- David Bowie and Brian Eno made Bowie's low album by randomly generating melodies and chords.
- The speaker asks for random numbers from his audience to generate a chorus melody for their hit song.